This invention relates to automobile wheels and particularly to wire spoke wheels which combine strength, ease of manufacture and beauty.
This invention relates particularly to wire spoke wheels having a center felly which is made in such manner that, after being fixed in a conventional rim, the resulting wheel can be used with conventional tubeless tires.
Wire spoke automobile wheels which permit the use of tubeless tires in a practical way are difficult and costly to make. In prior wire wheels the spoke ends at the wheel rim were mounted through holes in the drop center of the rim. This prevented a reliable airtight seal. Attempts to cover such spoke-rim assemblies with metal or elastomeric seal strips on the tire side of the rim have not been successful. Such wheels tend to develop leaks, and often require complete removal of the tire to adjust or replace a spoke.
In the truck and automobile fields, the rim is usually made from an imperforate sheet of metal rolled and welded into a circle of rim configuration, wherein only one hole for a valve stem was employed. Sealing this single hole against air leakage is a far simpler task than sealing many spoke tightening nipple holes. The advantages of a tubeless tire are well known.